Of Bows and Dragons
by RedHoodandtheOutlaws
Summary: After discovering that Astrid is unfaithful, Hiccup runs from Berk. Soon he winds up on a strange island that the locals call Scotland. Then he finds a beautiful red head injured in the forest. What else could go wrong for Hiccup and Toothless? What happens when the royal family is being forced to make Merida marry? This is Mericcup.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Ok so this is my first fan fiction. I started this story because a friend of mine, GuardianofPeace, refused to work on his story until I started working on one of the story ideas I had and got a few chapters in (Because he had writers block and I was a chicken). SO here we go. This is going to be Mericcup. This is three years after both movies and they were both 15 during their movies. For Hiccups Armor think of the trailer for HTTYD2. Now on with the show.**

Of Bows and Dragons

Chapter 1 Beginnings

A lone armored man sped along on a large black beast. The rider leaned forward and gripped the handles on the saddles tighter. The dragon grinned as they performed various aerial stunts. While usually it would only be the rider excited by this. This Night Fury however had an artificial tailfin that could only be operated by a rider. This dragon and rider were named Toothless and Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, respectively. Their home, Berk, would be described by its inhabitants as twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death.

This young rider was trying to put as much distance between him and this forsaken island.

_Flashback_

_Hiccup wiped the soot and sweat he acquired while working in the forge. He kept his job as a smith because he enjoyed the creativity it provided. He donned his fur vest as he exited the building. Gobber had let him off of work early so he could prepare for his date with Astrid tonight. He and Astrid had been dating since the whole Red Death incident. It had been three years since then._

_He had asked for her hand in marriage after two and a half years. Now they have been planning the wedding in their off-hours recently. Hiccup hurried between the houses eager to get home and prepare. He was in such a hurry he almost didn't notice the couple behind one of the houses. Almost. Apart of him wished he hadn't once he realized who it was. It was Astrid. His fiancé. Kissing Snotlout. His initial shock and sadness was immediately replaced by burning anger. _

_Hiccup stormed to his house and started gather belongings. He packed as many clothes as he could fit into his saddle bags and donned his armor. In the kitchen, Hiccup wrote a letter to his father explaining that he had to leave, to give the ring to Astrid, and that he was sorry._

_He took the gold ring off of his finger and set it on the table next to the letter._

_Flashback end_

That was three weeks ago. They spent the first two weeks settlement hopping among the Vikings. At all of the mead halls he visited he just wanted to be accepted by his kinsmen. Unfortunately, he was laughed out of every single one. They felt that, other than his leg, he didn't possess the look of a Viking. At last he had come to a settlement that had accepted him for him. He couldn't stay long though. Rumors began to circulate around the tribe that a scrawny Viking from a northern tribe has gone missing. When eyes began to turn him he fled.

Hiccup and Toothless spent the last week of their exile living in the local forests of whatever land they had arrived in. "This is great," said Hiccup with sarcasm dripping from his voice, "we can just live out here forever, eh, buddy?" Toothless slapped him with the flaps on the side of his head.

They glided over the beautiful lush forests with a crystal blue river running through it. As the sun went down Hiccup directed his dragon towards a clearing in the forest. As they landed the young Viking unhooked himself from the saddle and slide off. After regaining his land legs he approached his only friend and removed the saddle and hung it in a nearby tree.

They then set to work on their new nightly routine. Toothless prepared a fire to cook his human's food, while Hiccup removed the food stuff from the saddlebags. After dinner the two of them curled up to sleep.

The Next Morning….

Castle DunBroch was already bustling with activity at eight in the morning. Shop owners bustled to open their shops and tradesmen work at their trades. A single maid was to awaken the princess. Such was life in northern Scotland.

"Princess Merida! Mornin' is 'ere!" called the maid as she tore open the curtains.

The lump in the bed moaned and twisted. "I don't want too."

"Breakfast is almost severed, lass." The maid said casually as she picked up a green dress.

The promise of food made the princess leap out of bed. She quickly grabbed the dress, put it on, and grabbed her bow and quiver. Merida rushed down the hall and made it to the main hall just as the servants brought large bowls of bacon, sausage, and eggs. "I made it!"

After a healthy dose of breakfast she went to bolt.

"Be back by lunch!" her mother called after her.

_With Merida_

Merida decided not to ride Angus during this crisp morn. Suddenly the blue of a Wil-o-wisp appeared in front of her.

She sprinted after the tail for another minute until her foot caught on a root and she tumbled into small stream, which wouldn't have been a problem had she not hit her head on a rock. She was about to drown. Coincidently

_With Hiccup _

Hiccup and Toothless woke up and started to make their breakfast. Toothless stood up on his hind legs with his ears perked up. He growled and bolted in the direction of the stream. Without thinking the still armored Hiccup grabbed his helmet and rushed after his best friend. The pair quickly came to the stream. "Toothless!" Hiccup shouted as he rushed towards the mass of red hair connected to the vibrant green dress.

He turned her over and put his ear to her chest. Nothing. He began to do compressions on the young girls chest. A moment later she coughed up a bunch of water. He checked again. _Ba-bum, ba-bum. _"She'll make it, buddy." He looked her over, "But she has a head wound. Let's get her back to camp." '_Damn she's pretty.'_

At the camp Hiccup laid the ginger down with her head leaning on a rock. In a short time he had her small cut cleaned and bandaged. Once he was satisfied with his work and he was sure there were no other injuries, Hiccup sat on a boulder near the fire and his dragon.

Toothless was curious about this new human Hiccup found. Her aura was pleasant to feel. It was similar to that of his human. He stood up on his hind legs and waddled over to the sleeping girl.

"Toothless?" called Hiccup as he saw the approach. The Night Fury sniffed her again and laid down beside her. "Oh sure. It takes me weeks to even get close to you. It takes her ten minutes."

Toothless' ears perked up and he gave his signature grin to his friend. The dragon's thoughts returned to the unconscious fire headed human beside him. Her aura was kinder unlike his human's former mate. He nestled in close to the flame head girl for a nap.

Hiccup smiled at the two being to his left. He took out his journal from his bag and he grabbed a piece of charcoal out of the pit. Hiccup began a pass time he hadn't done in weeks. He began to draw.

**AN: That is the end of CH1. Review if you'd like. Check out my friend's story as well, get his ass in gear.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you for all the response. One review brought up some good points. To counter that. 1) I don't like Astrid. She rubs me the wrong way. I won't bash her constantly or make her a bad guy, I promise. 2) This completely disregards the TV series. 3) I'll explain how Astrid and Snotlout grew close as well, just not now. **

**I own nothing.**

**Of Bows and Dragons**

**Chapter 2**

It was lunch time when Hiccup put down his charcoal pencil and stood up to stretch. His prosthetic leg creaked and clicked. It needed to be repaired. He didn't have the tools for the up keep on it here. Hiccup looked over at Toothless and the red haired lady. The young man studied her for the third or fourth time that morning. The dress she wore was vibrant and spoke of richness. '_She is too far out of my league,' _ thought Hiccup. He took the glove off of his left hand and rubbed his ring finger. '_It's not surprising the more I think about it.'_

His head snapped up when he heard movement off to the left. Toothless had stood up. The black dragon licked his lips and nodded towards the stream '_food'_ was his thought.

Hiccup understood immediately, especially when he felt his own stomach rumble. "If you're getting fish, get some extra in case she wakes up."

Toothless rolled his eyes, as if to say duh, grabbed an empty bag and sprinted towards the water. Hiccup smile and shook his head. Sitting down, he replaced his glove and went to go pick up his journal when he heard a moan. The firry girl was beginning to wake up! "Hey, are you ok?" he asked as he approached her, careful to keep his distance though, "Uh, Lady?" He dared to inch a little closer.

The young woman opened her eyes suddenly and sat up. And then instantly regretted it. "Ow, mah head," she said with an odd accent. She reached up to feel her head. It was bandaged. '_What happened? Where am I?' _she thought nor noticing the armored Viking.

"Uh….Lady? A-are you ok?" Hiccup kneeled down to her level.

"My name isn't Lady!" she said in an angry tone. She turn to face him, but faltered for a second. _'Handsome'_ she thought. She started again in a kinder, yet still miffed, voice, "My name is Merida," she touched her head again, "What happened?"

Hiccup walked over and picked up a water skin and handed it to her, "We found you in a stream about a half mile that way," he nodded in the direction that his dragon had gone, "You were knocked out, I think you might have hit your head on a rock. What do you remember?"

Merida had tensed at the word 'we' and hoisted herself onto the rock she had been leaning on, "I was just exploring the forest. Then I tripped." Merida looked ariund the clearing. "So who is we?"

Hiccup rubbed rthe back of his head, "We I-I didn't say we. No we here. Just me."

"No you said we. Where is the other?"

"Look there is not another person here with us," Started Hiccup but was interrupted by a sack hitting the forest floor. Causing both humans to turn.

_With Toothless just before…_

Toothless happily carried the fish in his fornt legs while walking on his hind legs. He trekked through the woods until he came to the clearing they were camped in. Hearing voices the young black dragon clung to the shadows. His human was stuttering. It was funny to see his friend back pedal and say that there was no one else there.

Toothless huufed in annoyance at the 'not another person here comment'. He was people. So he made his presence known.

Merida was frozen at the sight of the large black beast. Hiccup was frozen because Merida saw Toothless.

"Merida. Don't panic." He came up to the young woman's side.

"Merida leaned her head toward him, "Don't panic?" she whispered frantically, "It's a damn, bloody dragon and you say don't panic!" She looked down at her bow and began eyeing it, hoping she could reach it and fire before the beast attacked.

"Listen, he won't attack you. Just stay calm." The Viking looked back at the dragon.

The two humans began moving forward at the same time. Due to Merida's concussion and Hiccup's awkward gait they collided and tumbled into a mass of limbs. Toothless let out a series of sounds that sounded like laughter.

The two's faces only a few inches apart. They stayed like that a few moments until they both started to go red. Merida, having landed on top, stood up and looked at the dragon having a fit of laughter. "He really is harmless isn't he?"

Hiccup sat on the rock previously occupied by the ginger girl, "N-no. He's dangerous. But, he's my friend."

"You could have said tha' to start with," Merida turned to face him, "I didn't even know they were real."

Toothless came over and sat by his human, "As far as I can tell my village is one a handful of ones that have had problems with them," he started to scratch his dragon's head, "The two of us ended that."

Merida smiled at the two. They looked like good friends. She made a mental note to ask him about the story later. In the meantime, "So, what are your names then? I could just call you boy and dragon."

Hiccup went red with embarrassment again. "I-I-I'm Hiccup, and this is Toothless." He said gesturing to Toothless.

Merida started trying to stifle laughter, "Tha's a funny name, lad." Apparently it was possible for him to blush deeper. After a couple more moments the Scot stopped laughing.

Hiccup huffed and picked up the sack of fish. He took out two decent sized fish and laid them to the side. Then he tossed the sack to Toothless, "Eat up buddy." Merida watched as the boy grabbed a couple of sharp sticks from his pile of equipment. Then he speared one on each of the two fish and handed a stick to her. She watched as Hiccup walked over towards the fire and held it over. Noticing, with curiosity, the pops and clicks from the prosthetic leg she hadn't notice before. She stuck her own fish over the fire.

"So, Hiccup," Merida began, "What happened to your leg?" she tried to sound as causal and calm as possible. She wasn't exactly calm. The princess was wary of the dragon, who wouldn't be, but she was more wary of the the unknown man in front of her. She needed to know more.

Hiccup smiled and looked at his leg. A tiny piece of metal was sticking out. "The spring in the foot broke. Now it makes noise," said Hiccup with a smile.

"No. I meant your first leg."

"Ah. Now that is a story." Hiccup poked the fire with a stick. "Long story short I did something…. stupid… And….. Crazy."

Merida rolled her eyes, "How did it get hurt?"

Hiccup smiled. "Story for a later time."

Having finished his own fish, Toothless and curled up next to his friend. An hour or so later both humans finished their meals as well. Merida looked to the sun was beginning to sink to the west. "I need to get home. My parents mill kill me!" She stood up fast and suddenly got light headed. Still feeling the effects of her head injury.

Hiccup caught her shoulders to steady her, "Your in no condition to be going anywhere alone." He let her go and he quickly tied his bag shut and slung it over his shoulder. "Come on. Point us to your home."

**AN: That is the end of CH2. Review if you'd like, please give me some honest feed back if you do.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Another chapter down. Sorry for being late guys. The next one won't be out for another two weeks at least due many assignments. In the meantime this is extra-long. On a final note. **

**Mystic: Why are you apologizing? Also I just my add a female now that you mention it.**

**Other Guest reviewers: Glad you guys like it so far.**

**The Badgering Brave Weasley: Thanks for the support. Can you inform me of any mistakes you find?**

**To everyone else: Thank you!**

**I own nothing.**

Hiccup approached Toothless and kneeled to his faithful dragon, "Toothless, they will lose their heads if they see you," he turned and looked at the waiting woman and then back to him, "I'll be back in a few days. If I get the feeling this could be a home I'll come back and get you. If not, well you know the rest." He stood up and placed his helmet on his head. "Stay safe. Come get me if there is trouble."

As Hiccup approached Merida she looked confused. "Why aren't we taking your dragon?"

Hiccup leaned down to pick up her bow and quiver to hand to her. He smirked beneath his helmet, "He'd cause panic. An armored stranger with a mythical beast? No way."

Merida huffed and rolled her eyes. She accepted the bow and slung the quiver onto her back. She started walking in the direction of the stream. Leaving Hiccup to look at Toothless who only offered him a shrug of confusion. The young Viking shook his head and quickly caught up to the fiery young woman. "So," he started, "Where are we going?"

Merida smiled softly, "DunBroch. My home." After a few moments of silence she asked, "Where are you from?"

Hiccup didn't answer for a few minutes. Merida took that time to study her temporary protector. His armor was made out of thick leather with metal reinforcing it based on the clanking. It consisted of a breast plate, shoulder pads, strange leg armor, and full arm guards. Several daggers were strapped to his body. His belongings were in a medium sized pack that was tightly packed and firmly bound to his body. He carried himself tall and full of confidence, but his speech was timid. He was a contradiction. "I'm from a village in the North."

Merida raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Just North." It was too vague. It didn't help the little trust she had.

Hiccup turned his head to look at her. "It was twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south from Freezing to Death."

The young Scottish girl giggled, "Sounds charming, laddie. What made you want to leave such a wonderful place?"

Unconsiuosly Hiccup grabbed his left ring finger. "I-I-I, uh, needed to get away." Merida just nodded. That was something she could relate to. The two walked in verbal science. The only non-woodland sound was Hiccup's leg as it clicked and squeaked.

The two didn't do much talking for a while. They just stole glances at each other. As they neared the tree line Merida stopped and held an arm out to catch Hiccup across his chest. Making silencing motions she drew her bow and knocked an arrow. Hiccup followed her lead and had a dagger in each hand. Merida swung around and saw what she had heard. A large bear.

Ever since Mor'du was killed, bears had been more common. The bear roared and charged the pair. Merida saw double and her arrow missed. Hiccup pushed her out of the way just in time to catch the swipe of the bear's claws across his left lower side, where there was no armor. The cuts burned and Hiccup yelled.

Hiccup swung the dagger in his right hand back towards the beast. He was pushed away by the bear before the blade could make contact. The young Viking turned just in time to see two arrows sprout from the bears shoulder and chest. Merida had fired at both bears this time.

Suddenly there was a loud, high pitched whistling sound. A blue fire ball slammed into the bear, mortally wounding it. While the furry beast was trying keep standing, Toothless tackled the bear. Using a second blast of blue fire he ended the bear's misery. The dragon helped Hiccup up and acted as a crutch for his friend. He didn't want worsen his wounds and he needed to stay awake incase the blood loss was to bad.

Hiccup and Toothless looked at the fallen beast. Suddenly, loud voices with the same accent as Merida were approaching the trio. It was a group of about eight men wearing what looked to Hiccup like green skirts. They looked relieved at the sight of the ginger girl but quickly became frightened when they saw the other two. Hiccup seemed to be right unfortunately.

The set of warriors raised their weapons and got ready to charge. Toothless began to growl.

"STOP!" shouted Merida. The whole company looked at her, the warriors dropped their weapons, and Toothless sat back on his hind legs. "They gave me aid. You'll not be harming them. Either of them." She looked at the helmeted figure and his dragon. "Are either of you hurt?"

Toothless shook his large head. He was fine, the bear wasn't it was dead, He was fine. Hiccup however just held up his right hand, which had been pressed against his left side. Blood dripped off of his hand, "Tis but a scratch. Or not."

Merida looked at him with an unamused face. "Let's get you to a healer," she turned to her fellow Scots, "Take care of them. I'm going to see my dad."

One of the warriors bowed and the other's followed suite, "Yes, Princess." They intoned.

Hiccup's mind was reeling. _Prin-pri-princess?! No wnder they were so protective of her. That's the first princess I've ever met. I assumed they would be stuck up and not want to even touch a weapon. Guess that explains why she's so pretty. Where did that come from? _Hiccup shook his head to clear it. He was losing his mind. H gripped his side tightly, attempting to dull the pain.

The warrior who Hiccup assumed was in charge came up to him, keeping his distance from the Night Fury, said, "You'll be coming with us then." Hiccup adjusted the bag on his back, nodded and followed the men. His leg made even louder clicks. He leaned heavier on toothless. The man in front of them spoke up, "So what is your name, then lad?"

"Um, Hiccup, uh, sir."

The company laughed. "Lad. Did your parents hate you?" asked a man to his left.

Hiccup just shrugged, "It's common where I'm from to have an odd name. They say it's supposed to scare off gnomes and trolls. Besides it's not the worst name I've heard." He was breathing heavy

The rest of their walk to the castle gates was in silence. The men kept their distance from the Viking and dragon. They didn't trust them and Hiccup didn't blame them. He just wished they would loosen their grips on their swords. The gates drew nearer and nearer and Hiccup closed his eyes silently pleading for the townspeople to be calmer than his escorts.

Of course it didn't quite happen that way. As soon as they passed through the gates people began to line the streets and parents sent their children inside. Many of them held weapons. Hiccup didn't blame them all but that's not what caught his attention though. The huge stone structure was incredible. Hiccup and Toothless shared wide eyed looks as neither of them had ever seen such a thing. The escorts led him to a stone building that wasn't near as large as the other.

The man in charge knocked on the door and an grizzled old man came to the door. He asked, "What is it this time, Angus? Another hunting accident?"

The lead man, Angus, smiled. "In a way, I guess, Connor. We found these two," he jerked his thumb towards Hiccup and Toothless, "in the forest. They killed the bear we were tracking. The skinny one got himself mauled."

Hiccup was led into the building by the healer, gipping his side tightly, and Toothless followed closely. Hiccup was directed towards a small chair and his dragon crammed himself behind the chair. Connor rolled his eyes. "As long as your….. thing keeps his distance he can stay. Now let's remove your shirt and armor."

Hiccup complied and painfully unbuckled the breast plate and belongings. He tried to peel the shirt off of his torso but the shooting pain in his side made him stop. He was starting to feel woozy. The healer drew a a short knife and cut his shirt off of him, leaving him half naked.

The doctor turned and picked up a white cloth. He handed it to Hiccup to press onto the wound. "So," the healer named Connor started, "Why in the hell did a young man like you think he could take on a full grown bear?"

Before Hiccup could answer the now bloody cloth was pulled away and a stinging liquid was poured over his long cuts. Hiccup shook his head and fought the pain, "It, ah, attacked us."

The healer began to inspect the wounds on his patient. "Most men would have run."

"I don't exactly," Hiccup gave a sharp intake of breath as he was prodded, "run very fast anymore," he said gesturing to his leg.

Connor shrugged, "I still think it was something else. Now then. To business." He prodded and poked some more. "Their deep and bleeding a lot, but they didn't reach your innards. So, that's lucky." He pulled out some needle and thread.

"Tis' but a scratch."

"A scratch? You're leaking like a rotten bucket." Connor began to sew the strips of flesh back together.

"I've had worse!" Hiccup protested.

"I can tell. Your bloody leg is of!" Connor chuckled as he continued stitching him up. He was starting from the highest cut and working his way down. He was a little unnerved by the black dragon watching his every move with fascination. It wasn't bad though. He was almost calming and acted like a protective dog or cat. The old man didn't have any trouble treating the young man. He didn't flich away from pain and he sat straight up. After he sealed the lowest and longest cut he used a wet cloth to wipe away the crimson liquid. He bound Hiccups lower torso with a long strip of white cloth. "Alright your done. So you don't pop a stitch, don't try to put a shirt on for a few days."

Hiccup tested his movement. It was decent. "Then what am I supposed to where?" His answer was in the form of a green skirt thing he had seen every other male, including Connor, wearing. "A skirt? You want me to wear a skirt?"

Connor smacked the back of his head, "It's a kilt lad! It's a proud garment."

Hiccup shrugged and undid the rope holding his pant leg to his replacement foot. He expertly undid the harness and removed the foot to reveal the stump that ended at mid shin. Light burn scars made a ring around the end. After removing his pants and leg armor, Hiccup donned the 'kilt' with guidance from the healer. Hiccup removed the remainder of his armor and stowed it in a second bag. He then lashed both bags and his leg to Toothless' saddle.

He balanced himself and looked into the mirror on the wall. He was still skinny but he had built up some muscle over the years. He looked almost natural wearing an emerald green kilt with a length of cloth make making a loose sash across his body from left hip to right shoulder and a leather and fur boot. He began to stare at his stump. Toothless came over and sat next to him and held his tail so it was visible in the mirror. Hiccup leaned onto his best friend's shoulder, "Just a couple of cripples right buddy?"

Connor came over and patted his shoulder. "I have a feeling that whatever made you a 'cripple' is the same reason why you faced the bear. It's why you are a better man."

"Being stupid and crazy doesn't make me a better man." Toothless licked his face as if to say, _It's ok._

"Your beast," Toothless growled at the healer, "Friend," the dragon nodded, "Is right. You are you. The best you there is. Now you best be off. I expect the King would like a word with ya."

Hiccup nodded. Satisfied with his appearance he and Toothless started towards the door. As they neared it opened on its own accord.

_A few moments before…_

Merida made her way back through the streets of DunBroch towards the healer's house. Her Parents were angry when she first appeared because she was late. The anger quickly turned to concern when they saw the bandage on her head. Then they demanded to know what happened. And she told them. She explained how she was found in the river and cared for by Hiccup, that she met his friend Toothless and that they saved her from a bear and Hiccup had been injured in that conflict. They wanted to meet these men as soon as possible.

That was the other thing on her mind. She had neglected to mention they weren't both men.

Whoops. Thankfully because of them waiting to meet the pair all visitations were being held.

Merida stood on the other side of the healer's door wearing at clean dress. She opened it to see her new friends. She evaluated Hiccup quickly. He was wearing DunBroch kilt. Around his abdomen was a white cotton bandage. His remaining visible chest and his arms were well defined. His false leg was removed leaving him with one boot.

"'ello Hiccup!" Merida waved happily. "It's nice to see you properly dressed now. My parents would like to meet you."

'Y-yy-you mean th-the King and Queen?"

"Yep."

**AN: Review if you will. Let me know what you think, good or bad.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Well this was a doozy. Thank you all for the support and reviews. This will hopefully be the last slow moving chapter. Also, I am disappointed that no one got the Monty Python reference last chapter. Here we go.**

**OF BOWS AND DRAGONS**

**Chapter 4**

Hiccup paled and shifted nervously, "I-I-I don't th-think that it's a good i-i-idea." He did NOT want to make a fool of himself to the monarchs. He could barely handle their daughter. '_Not because she's a princess though…wait, what?',_ He thought.

Merida rolled her eyes and grabbed his shoulder pulling him along, "Come on." She had forgotten about his leg being removed and he only managed one hop before he planted his face into the ground. She covered her mouth, her face went crimson, and her eyes went wide. "Hiccup! I'm so sorry lad!"

She made to help him up but Toothless beat her to it. He glared at the young woman. No matter how much she felt like his human, she wasn't him. She had no right to treat him like that.

Hiccup wrapped his arms around the dragons head. He was hoisted to his foot. "Toothless don't give her that look. It was an accident," said Hiccup looked at the princess with some hurt hidden in his features. The Night Fury gave an annoyed huff and broke eye contact with Merida.

The flaming haired girl almost reached out to grab his shoulders again but she stopped herself, "I AM sorry."

Hiccup leaned to his right and rested on his friend. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Happens all the time."

Merida fidgeted nervously but then regained her composure, "Well then we should probably be gettin' on up to the castle." She swept her arm in its general direction. "Bad news to keep them waiting."

Hiccup sighed, "It will take a while for me to make up there with my leg damaged as it is."

"That's okay. I'll support you!" she looked at the dragon who was doing his best not to look friendly, "or you can ride your dragon."

The young Viking looked at his companion with an inquisitive look. Toothless looked back. Hiccup nodded towards the saddle and the dragon nodded back. He flashed his eyes to Merida and nodded toward the saddle again. Toothless shook his head. Hiccup just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. The dragon gave first. He lowered himself so they could get on.

"Alright, climb on." Said hiccup as he somehow managed to hoist himself onto the black beast. He held out his hand which Merida grabbed hesitantly, while blushing profusely. He pulled her up with relative ease. She was about to her hands around his middle, but rememeber he wounds so she opted to hold his bags. Hiccup realized they were ready to run. He leaned down and whispered in Toothless' ear, "I'm a little tender right now. So be nice."

Toothless just rolled his eyes and huffed. But he complied any way. As they walked through the town, they drew the peoples attention. Their reactions varied though. Some pointed and whispered at both the dragon and the princess that was riding in the same saddle as the stranger. Others, mainly the children, stared in awe of the large black beast. Many, however, were hostile and fearful. They gripped their weapons tightly or quickly hid inside their homes.

Hiccup sighed internally. _'If this is how they react to a dragon maybe we shouldn't even consider staying here. No matter how long.'_

Toothless was receptive to his human's discomfort and turned his head to look at him. He gave him a toothless grin which Hiccup returned in kind.

As they approached the large oaken doors, Merida slid out of the leather saddle as only a practiced horse rider could. She ran to the doors ahead of the other two. Facing them she said, "I'm just goin' to let them know that you're here. Just wait. Right there." With that, she slipped behind the door.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and slid out of the saddle on to the right side of Toothless. He landed expertly on his right foot. He placed a hand on his dragon's head, "If it doesn't work out this time, maybe we should return to back. To Berk."

Toothless gave him a confused look. He remembered how his human's kin treated him, even after he killed the Dragon King. Most of the villagers respected him, but a good portion hated him dearly. Toothless made a squeaking sound. He didn't mind going back, but it had to be for better reasons.

Both males had their attention grabbed by a clearing of Merida's throat. They turned to see her. "Come on lads! They're waiting."

Hiccup and Toothless shared a look with one another. Both shrugged. Hiccup gripped the saddle hoisted himself so he could place his fleshy foot into the stirrup and they moved into the throne room.

_Moments earlier….._

King Fergus stopped talking to his wife about the tension between the clans as soon as Merida entered. Those bloody scoundrels wanted Merida wed soon, despite their previous agreement. He watched as his daughter approached him with a large smile on her face.

"They're outside. Please be nice."

"I'm always nice! Its other people that make me just **seem** not nice!" cried Fergus with mock indignation.

Elinor just rolled her eyes and patted her husband's hand, "Just let them in and meet them."

Merida smiled and ran off to open the doors. The two reigning monarchs shared a look. Then the heroes of the hour entered. What the king and queen saw astounded them. Before them was a dragon and an average lad sized lad hanging on the side off the saddle. The dragon was jet black and had piercing green eyes. The lad was overall unremarkable from this angle with the exception of the bandage around his waist. They walked until they had reached the stone step at the foot of the thrones.

The lad stepped off in a strange way and faced the family, steadying himself on his dragon who was sitting almost like a dog who is begging would. Fergus' mind was reeling. That was a black dragon. He had heard stories about a black dragon and his rider in black armor, who had fought the roman invaders of the Viking lands a couple years back. They called the rider a demon. They called him the Black Rider. But it couldn't be these two. The boy wasn't seven feet tall like the rumors said.

He quickly reevaluated the pair. The dragon seemed to not be the blood thirsty beast that ancient legends made his kind out to be. It seemed almost docile. The left side of its tail also seemed to be artificial and attached to an odd device on the left side of the saddle. The boy was skinny but muscled. He stood about five foot, six. His dark brown hair hung to his chin. As Fergus studied him he noticed that his left leg ended in swirling scars at just above mid shin.

At the same time Hiccup looked them over as well. The King was a mountain of a man. He had long red hair like his daughter's and a large mustache with chin stubble. He was wearing a large green kilt, much like hiccups, but had a shirt and chainmail underneath. Around his shoulders was a massive bear skin.

The Queen was smaller than her husband and didn't resemble Viking women at all. She wore a flowing green dress with a golden belt running around her waist. Her hair was tamed in a braid, unlike her daughters.

Merida faced her parents, "Mum, dad. This is Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup and Toothless. King Fergus and Queen Elinor." She had pointed each person in turn. "The wee devils aren't here right now. You'll meet them later." Merida quickly sat next to her mother.

For several moments no one said anything else. The Queen broke the silence, "Thank you for saving our daughter."

Hiccup nervously bounced on his foot. In a fight he didn't know fear, but in a social situation he couldn't make even eye contact. "It's nothing."

The King and Queen looked at each other. "Nothing?" bellowed Fergus, "Lad, you saved our daughter, the princess, twice."

Hiccup looked up, "I-i-it wa-was what anyone would have d-done."

Fergus was about to speak but Elinor cut him off, "Many would have bandaged and given her aid, yes. But how many men would jump in front of a bear? How many would be attacked for a stranger?"

Hiccup smiled softly and looked down, "I have the habit of doing things others might consider stupid and crazy."

Fergus grinned at the lad, "Well, I'm glad you do. Now we want to reward you. Is there anything you want?"

Hiccup's mind raced. What did he want?_ 'Astrid'_. He wanted Astrid to be his again. But she hadn't been his since long before he left and he'd known it. Just didn't want to believe it. He wanted things like they were before it all went to hell, two years ago. _'Berk'. _He wanted to go home but he wasn't ready to go back. _'Home'. _He wanted a place he could call home again. _' For Toothless to meet another Night Fury' 'Meri- Wait. What?' _"I want a lot of things. Very few of them you can give me. But I'd like a place to stay while I heal that Toothless can stay in as well and a forge to use to fix my leg."

Fergus's face broke into a wide grin, "Done. I'll have Merida take you to the Forge. It hasn't been used for a while. Our old smith died last winter. In the meantime I'll have servants make you up a room here, in the castle."

Hiccup's eyes went wide, "That sounds good."

Merida stood and walked over next to Hiccup. The Viking stood in the stirrup again. "Be back by sundown for dinner." The trio moved out of the room and towards the forge.

Elinor looked to her husband, "Is that a good idea? Allowing him to stay in the castle? The only livable room at the moment is right next to Merida's. It isn't proper."

Fergus leaned back in his chair, "Dear, the lad could hardly **speak** to us without being nervous. I don't think that will be a problem." '_But the only places with confirmed dragon sighting is northern Viking territory. If that boy is a Viking, I want someone I trust to be watching him. The last thing we need is another war like twenty years ago….'_

_On the Isle of Berk…._

Stoick the Vast was never an emotional man. But, these past few weeks have been hard. Three weeks ago he had discovered his son's letter and ring. The letter said that he had to leave and that he couldn't explain why at the time. He had said he **might** be back in a few days. He said to not give Astrid the ring but to tell her he was sorry he wasn't there for her.

Two weeks ago he sent out searches. None were too successful. The other tribes still held Berk as traitors for no participating in the war all those years ago. His only hope was that Hiccup was safe….

_Forge of Castle DunBroch_

Hiccup was in awe of the forge he was brought to. It was more sophisticated the one he learned in on Berk. He grabbed a dusty apron from its hook. With a blast of fire from Toothless, he was underway. While the forge heated up he took the leg from his dragons back.

Merida watched in fascination as he expertly disassembled his wood and metal limb. The picked up the mutilated piece that was causing the problems. The princess realized it used to be a spring. Now it was a twisted clump. He tossed it on the ground. "Aren't you going to re-use that?"

Hiccup was work mode. He didn't even turn and face her, "I can't. I have to use soft metal for the spring. Over time it compacts and I can't stretch it back out. I have to start fresh."

With that he began to work on his art. Merida watched for an hour and a half as Hiccup shaped the metal. He heated and hammered it repeatedly. By the end it was obvious how the young man had built his muscle. The hammer finally became silent. And the forge began to cool.

Hiccup reassembled his leg. Pulling up a dusty stool he began to strap on his appendage. It only took him a few moments to tighten the three leather straps. Standing up he tested the spring. Perfect. He turned to his friend, "Are we ready to go?"

Merida looked at his completed left leg. It made him seem more complete. Merida nodded and they walked in silence back to the castle.

**AN: There goes the fourth chapter. Go ahead and give me some feedback. Good, bad ugly, doesn't matter.**


End file.
